example, the pentagon which has an enormous snoop potential -- i don't mean to use that word in a bad sense, but let's say monitoring potential, and all college students, i believe, are said to be within the per view of the pentagon. that's obtained through a contract that the pentagon issues with, i guess, choicepoint? >> it's a different private company but they are basically trying to compile records on students so they can reach out to them and recruit them into the military. >> what do you think of the pentagon having dossiers on every young person in america, mr. chairman? >> i haven't heard that honestly. it's obviously a huge task and i don't think it's being done in the light that you are talking about. i think they are probably trying to identify those individuals that would be a high risk in terms of potential terror to this country, and i think that's what they are concentrating on. i don't think they are going to the average student and developing a dossier. i their doing a scan mechanism to find out is this particular student a u.s. citizen? is he a student from a co

at. the pentagon it's a place where u.s. military brass make decisions about war but the pentagon is about to ramp up a different type of battle this time of p.r. push what's behind this move we'll explain in just a minute. we live in a society that loves to update posts and tweets on social media but should you be required to hand over your social media information to your boss or your college get ready for snow bought a new bill in congress designed to protect your social media privacy. and ladies are you willing to go topless one just ahead will explored naked activism and why it's not a popular form of activism here in the u.s. . good afternoon it's friday february eighth for him in washington d.c. i'm meghan lopez and you're watching r.t. . the face of war is changing that much we've known for quite some time as a result we've watched the pentagon work to stay ahead of these changes multibillion dollar aircraft carriers an f. sixteen s are making their way for drones and cyber innovation wars are no longer being waged strictly between countries and the enemy is not always cle

by march 1st. the pentagon notifies congress today of its large-scale furlough plan should those cuts kick in. >>> let's head to wall street. jackie deangelis is at the new york stock exchange. >> good morning, natalie. another day, another cyber attack. this time on apple. authorities believe that the hackers that targeted facebook last week use d the same softwae to attack the mac computers of apple employees. all this, of course, coming on the heels of chrysler, jeep and burger king saying their twitter accounts were attacked. >>> meanwhile it isn't 1999 but investors are sure partying like it is, after nasdaq hit an all-time high. >>> generating some buzz after a facebook town hall chat with parents' magazine and a discussion focusing on joe biden's gun control efforts. >> if you want to protect yourself, get a double barrel shotgun. you don't need an ar-15. buy a shotgun. buy a shotgun. >> vice president says he has two shotguns of his own at his home in delaware. those dash cam videos from russia never seem to disappoint. take a look, the driver was surprised to see that th

the pentagon is a place where u.s. military brass make war decisions but the pentagon is about to ramp up a different type of battle this time of p.r. push what's behind the move will explain in just a moment. we live in a society that loves to update posts and tweets on social media sites but should you be required to hand over your information to your boss or your college get ready first nope a new bill in congress designed to protect your social media privacy. gearing up for round two senator rand paul is not a fan of the t.s.a. he even had a run in with the agency in an airport in tennessee now he's calling for an overhaul off the overhaul of the entire agency we'll tell you about his plans coming up. good evening it's friday february eighth five pm in washington d.c. i'm megan lopez and you're watching r.t. . well the face of war is changing that much we've known for quite some time as a result we've watched the pentagon scramble to be ahead of the changes in turn multibillion dollar aircraft carriers an f. sixteen s are making their way for drones and cyber innovation wars a

. the former republican senator from nebraska addressed pentagon employees who will have to manage some $46 billion in reductions starting friday. >> we need to figure this out. you are doing that. you have been doing that. we need to deal with this reality. we've got ahead of us a lot of challenges. they are going to define much of who we are, not this institution only but our country. >> sreenivasan: hagel won senate confirmation yesterday, despite the opposition of most of his fellow republicans. he succeeds leon panetta, who had served in the top pentagon job since july of 2011. white house officials conceded today it's unlikely the government will avoid those looming, automatic budget cuts. a spokesman said president obama will meet friday with congressional leaders, but there was no indication that any deal is in the works. tomorrow, senate democrats will try to bring up a stop-gap bill to delay the cuts, but republicans could block the measure. at the vatican, pope benedict the sixteenth gave an emotional farewell in his last general audience-- a day before his retirement becomes

from china. barbara starr a cnn pentagon correspondent, chris johnson is senior adviser at the center for strategic international studies. he was a former senior china analyst at the cia. chris, let me start with you. the ceo of namdia said that they had had enough. >> we felt that tolerance in the private sector, that it's just shrinking. people are sick and frustrated with how much i.p. we've lost to chinese hackers. we felt it was just a natural timing. >> chris, sounds like u.s. corporations have had enough. >> yes, i think that's definitely true. i mean, what's telling about the report that has just come out is the pervasiveness of this espionage by the chinese. and especially the role of the chinese military in economic espionage. you know, it's presumed, of course, that an opposition force, military force might enghaj probgauge in probes of national security information, looking for national security information. this economic espionage by the chinese military is a stark revelation, and it demonstrates that it's the entire force of the chinese government that is involved

benefit itself. most of the problems we have in terms of the pentagon budget are not a problem of mismanagement at the pentagon or at the department of defense. it is a problem of misallocation of resources from the front end. let me give you one example of that. soviets during the cold war had a saying better is the enemy of good enough. they would look at the military equipment, if what they had was good enough to do the job they would not overpay for something better. here in the states we have serious problem overpaying for equipment that is more than adequate for the job that is required. a perfect example of that is the f-35. you i am a retired naval aviator. i spent 20 years fly for the united states navy, 3500 flight hours. if the navy would capable or run its own purchase program the navy wouldn't go anywhere near the f-35 because it cost 2 1/2 times as much f-18 for only marginal increase in capability. melissa: let me start you there. i'm all in favor of cutting spending. >> gotcha. melissa: one. my favorite things in the world except when we're talking about handbags.

affect the pentagon and other departments, although some would argue that it coincides with a military drawdown in afghanistan. congress is investigating a $100-million shortfall in the department of labor's job corps program. that program helps low-income youth with job training and placement, and was founded by president lyndon johnson. the program is currently suspending enrollment for at least the next five months. the department of labor says it attempted to reduce operating costs, but the savings were not enough. the department tells us: 'job corps is conducting an exhaustive review of its current operating costs in order to make changes to ensure that program costs are sustainable in the future." a massive strike of india's workforce is expected to begin today. trade unions are organizing the strike, which includes millions of workers from the country's banking and manufacturing sectors, among others. workers are calling for a higher minimum wage and better implementation of the country's labor laws. it's expected the strikes will ripple through the indian economy. gdp could tak

strong words. gr+zu think chuck haggel has been the pentagon? >> my information is evene1q thoughxd i'm a conservative republic to give the president who ist( nnt his -- politically i don't agree with much of anythingqçó in a john g!i +t5ye1. >> i'm forzúditing the pentagon. i think there is ways for it to be found.xd i know you a solee1yme1i] they may have provided financing and i think he needs to reveal that. i'mñ" one that says, yes, iu- need more information about making aá.", final decision. >> do you thinkxd john mccain can filibuster --p, he is in his project in the the the -- the only way to get the information is toe1 threat them to ai] high standard of with he's- essentially sayingteák hat you would very to qme. we do signature strikes now. we don't even name the x the heem to live detective. maybe coming ots of a city or an encampment where they'rexd meeting and saying anti-government things are we dwk to havee1 strikes injf america? it opens pandora'se1q box by saying you mites as well kill an american. without a trial? that's very imimportance. >> you took on dem

pentagon employees, defense secretary leon panetta has already said a one day a week furlough for pentagon employees for defense department employees. that means about a 20% pay cut. there are others out there who could be affected by this. going to the airport, tsa workers could lose 9,000 agents. that could mean some long lines at security. 1,000 fbi agents. border patrol agents as well could be lost. food inspectors could be temporarily furloughed according to what we're hearing and a number of other programs. the democrats in particular say would hit the middle class and working families harder. where are we now? behind the scenes aides are trying to work out a deal. some sort of compromise to prevent these $85 billion in automatic spending cuts from happening march 1st. jon? >> tracie potts from washington d.c. thank you very much. >>> there's news the white house this morning is considering urging the supreme court to overturn california's controversial proposition 8. there are more details with impact on the president's decision. good morning, marla. >> reporter: good morni

money in their paychecks if those budget cuts go through. pentagon workers would lose one day of work each week for up to 22 weeks. that's a loss of about 20% of their pay. and the budget people at the defense department said the effect of those cuts will be felt across the country. >>> also, from the pentagon, a military milestone. for the first time since 2007, more than 30 days have passed with no u.s. deaths in afghanistan. the pentagon says that's because of fewer enemy attacks. and the fact that afghans, now, are taking over more of their own security operations. >>> if you're about to chow down on an egg mcmuffin this morning, you're probably not alone. a new study shows just how much fast food americans eat. adults ate 11% of their daily calories in fast food over a four-year period. topping the survey, nonhispanic black adults who ate one-fifth of their diet from fast food. and the over-60 crowd, ate fast food just 6% of the time. >>> well, drinking coffee can apparently give you the jolt you need to live longer. a new study of older americans found three cups of coffee

between congress and the white house, the pentagon faces $46 billion in budget cuts over seven months beginning in march. the defense department would also face additional cuts next year and beyond. >> president obama this morning will travel to decatur, georgia tech visit pre-k students and then speak at a recreation center. is afternoon he returns to the white house to take part in a fireside hang out on google+ to discuss a state of the union address and to interact. it starts at 4:50 p.m. and will be streamed live on the white house web site for along with his youtube and google+ pages. >> the postal service puts congress in an interesting predicament with its decision to end saturday delivery. >> can possible merger between u.s. airways and american. linda bell joining us from bloomberg headquarters in new york. anne valentine data you. >> happy valentine's day. looks like it's finally nearing an end. directors have voted on the merger approved $11 billion deal yesterday. this sets the stage for an announcement later today. the combined airline will fly under the american name wh

is a contributing editor for foreign policy magazine. a lot of sources in the pentagon and he just wrote this about chuck hagel, quote, his big problem is that tho one much wants him running the pentagon. the prospect is a real problem now because the next secretary of defense will need to work with congress to reduce the defense budget and work with the military to reshape it to make it relevant for future conflict. at the moment, he appears to lack the political capital and the intellect yul appetite to do the latter. do you think chuck hagel can run the pentagon? >> my inclination has been to give the president the prerogative of deciding who's in his cabinet. i voted for john kerry although i don't agree with much he represents as far as a u.s. senator, but i think he's an honest person and i think the president has the right to decide. with regard to hagel, my first inclination was to give him the benefit of the doubt. i'm for auditing the pentagon. i think there is waste to be found. he's a soldier. served honor bly. i'm starting to have doubts and they are that if you going

pentagon chief will stop at nothing. they're out there beating the bushes right now for anything that will slow the process of his confirmation, anything that will give them more time to find something they can build enough on to bring the man down. question. who are they trying to bring down? is it president obama's pick for secretary of defense? or is it the man the american people have chosen? is it about a confirmation or a desperate push to undermine the president's second term? listen to those attacking senator hagel, and you hear the yelps of pain this motley crew of neocons and right-wingers from the sun belt feel even though from the american people's choice of last november. what they hate, despise really, is the fact now in the history books that the american people in great numbers reject their war-like jingoistic notions of what america stands for. their problem is not with obama's choice for a cabinet appointment. their problem is with america's choice of who it wants to be president, who it wants deciding what we should be doing in this world. obama works for peace. he

pentagon chief will stop at nothing. they're trying to slow the process of his confirmation, anything to give them time to find something to bring the man down. question, who are they try king to bring down? is it president obama's pick for secretary of defense? or is it the man the american people have chosen? is it about a confirmation or a desperate push to undermine the president's second term. listen to those attacking senator hagel and you'll hear the yelps of pain, this motley crew of neocons and the sun belt feel. what they hate, despise, really, is the fact that now in the history books, the american people voting in great numbers reject their war-reich jinglistic notions of what america stands for. their problem is with america's choice of who it wants to be president. who it wants to sign. and what we should be doing in this world. obama works for peace. he works hard for it. this crowd has other ideas. and that's "hardball" for now. happy valentine's, everybody. what a day. and thanks for being with us tonight. "the ed show" with ed schultz starts right now. >>> good evening,

pentagon like this. we've had fat in the pentagon for 30 years. nobody's done a damn thing about it. if there's a compromise on sequester, some good things will happen because there are some people that are going to get hurt if we go over the cliff, but we have an opportunity here to cut the most bloated agency in all of government and serious cutting, and i think we ought to take it. >> we could take $45 billion this year out of the military budget. you're okay with that? >> yes, i am. and i think we can do that and we can make it work. you know there, have been tons of programs in the pentagon that the pentagon never wanted. that congresspeople have put in there. >> sure. howard dean, great to have you with us. always. >> thanks. >> appreciate it. wayne lapierre might be one of the greatest hucksters of all time. i'll show you what's behind his paranoia campaign next. tea party backers show a perverse sense of humor by creating a hillary clinton sex tape. david corn broke the story. he joins us on the panel tonight. stay with us. ♪ you know my heart burns for you... ♪ i'm up n

billion a year, half from the pentagon, half from nondefense programs. everything from education to national parks to meals on wheels. exempt from the cuts, programs like social security and veterans' benefits and student loans. the administration warns federal food inspectors would be temporarily furloughed. that could mean less product, higher prices and fewer jobs. air travelers may see longer lines at security checkpoints. by one congressional estimate, as many as 9,000 tsa officers may have to be laid off. the pentagon budget would be cut 11% a year, even as the war in afghanistan continues. d.o.d. civilian workers will likely take the hit. plans call for more than 700,000 to take one day off a week without pay, a 20% pay cut. jason mckenzie owns ride on bikes in columbus, georgia, home to fort benning. military employees make up half his business so smaller paychecks could mean fewer sales. >> it's going to take money out of everybody's pocket, everything will crash. everybody will stop spending, everybody. >> reporter: one of the ripple effects of gridlock in washington felt

furloughed. thousands of teachers and educators will be laid off. >> reporter: the pentagon faces the biggest cuts. about $46 billion. >> the way they cut the defense budget is the worst possible way and it's the most inefficient way and it's the what that i will do the motion damage to our security. >> reporter: -- the most damage to our security. >> reporter: the president wants to put off the sequester to get a budget deal. it was supposed to kick in january 1 but was pushed back following "fiscal cliff" negotiations. president obama wants a debt solution that includes spending cuts and tax increases. but many republicans have no interest in more tax hikes. >> let me be very clear and i say this to you as well as to the president: these spending cuts are going to go through on march 1. taxes are off the table. >> reporter: lawmakers created this deadline to try and force a broad budget deal by now but they are not even in session it week meaning no votes will occur until they get back leaving only a few days to negotiate. in the newsroom, elissa harrington, kpix 5. >>> historic day

that was set up in the pentagon. and it was designed to track war crimes cases in the wake of the exposure of the my lai massacre. >> where 500 men, women, and children were murdered by american g.i.s. >> that's right. the military basically, what they wanted to do was make sure they were never caught flatfooted again by an atrocity scandal. so in the army chief of staff's office, there were a number of army colonels who worked to track all war crimes allegations that bubbled up into the media that gis and recently returned veterans were making public. and they tracked all these. and whenever they could, they tried to tamp down these allegations. >> your book is very important to me. i was there at the white house in the 1960s when president johnson escalated the war. my own great regret is that i didn't see the truth of the war in time didn't see what was happening there. and yet, as i said, you didn't even come to the experience until after it was all over. and yet you have become obsessed with telling this story. you had no money. you had no advance. you didn't, you had no mean

the internet. in less than a decade, the pentagon's warning that it might be possible for a computer hacker to disable critical infrastructure in a major city and disrupt essential services has actually happened. other online attacks have seen millions of dollars stolen from banks and defense systems infiltrated. it's why, as we first reported in november of 2009, some people are already saying that the next big war is less likely to begin with a bang than a blackout. >> can you imagine your life without electric power? >> until february 2009, retired admiral mike mcconnell was the nation's top spy. as chief of national intelligence, he oversaw the central intelligence agency, the defense intelligence agency and the national security agency. few people know as much about cyber warfare, and our dependency on the power grid, and the computer networks that deliver our oil and gas, pump and purify our water, keep track of our money, and operate our transportation systems. >> if i were an attacker and i wanted to do strategic damage to the united states, i would either take the cold of wi

defense secretary leon panetta strongly defended the pentagon's response to the attack in benghazi that left chris stevenson and three others dead. there just wasn't enough time to get attack aircraft to the scene. >>> today, president obama will speak at a farewell dinner for panetta. he will be replaced by chuck hagel if replaced by the senate. >>> and michelle obama plans to travel to chicago to attend the funeral for 15-year-old hadiya pendleton. a band student and honor opportunity who participated in the inauguration festivities. hadiya was the victim of gun violence last week. fatally shot about a mile from the obama home. >>> wall street is bracing for a blizzard. keep an eye on linkedin today. the professional social media network shot up 10%. thanks to earnings that dealer doubled. >>> boeing stocks go higher. federal investigators have given the green light to testing of the dreamliner. >>> we'll see how apple fared day after. david iron horn called the company out for the bailout of cash. apple said it's consider the proposal of shares. they could build a stack of dollar bil

as many people stated down in newtown. i'm here to speak up for my son. >>> at the pentagon, chuck hagel finally takes over as defense chief. >> i will do everything in my power to be the kind of leader that you expect and you deserve. also, the kind of leader the country expects and deserves. >>> john kerry takes paris. [ speaking foreign language ] >> not bad at all. good day, i'm andrea mitchell in washington in english today. the historic voting rights act could be in danger as a number of supreme court justices overturned the 1965 law. nbcs justice correspondent pete williams joins me now from the supreme court. pete, from the arguments today, what is your impression of what way the court might be moving? >> well, you know, the court didn't come with a blank slate. four years ago, the court looked at the same question and laid down a marker. we were watching to see if the justices that were skeptical then changed their mind? the answer is no. five votes to strike down a key part of the voting rights act. it's a law that requires states with a history of discrimination to get p

. survived by his wife and two young children. >>> pentagon getting ready to announce creation of a new marine crisis response team. nbc news says this idea is in response to the attack on the american consulate in benghazi last week. a group of 1,000 marines will be based at a naval station in italy so it can quickly respond to north africa and eastern europe. bay area native and u.s. ambassador christopher stevens was one of four americans who died in that benghazi attack. hours before his death, stevens sent a cable to the state department warning of deteriorating security conditions. >>> 4:49. the u.n. security council is meeting this morning to discuss sanctions against north korea for detonating a nuclear device. the obama administration is negotiating with council members for stronger sanctions. a week ago north korea detonated its third underground nuclear test since 2006. it was the strongest blast to date. >>> some monster size goldfish up to a foot and a half long are pulled from lake tahoe in what biologists say are steadily multiplying in waters and that has biologists

but, you know, foreign nations and people in the pentagon can count votes too. we've never had a defense secretary with this many opposing votes. now this is something he can shake off, but it's going to take some time. >> woodruff: that's right. i mean he has the fewest confirming volts of any defense secretary since the job was created. mark thompson, how does that affect his ability to do his job? >> well, it will depend. it will affect it in a big way if he acts as he did in his con for megs hearing which by all accounts he did not do well. conversely, i talked to people in the pentagon. the lower in ranks you go, the more they like this guy. the more they like the sense that an enlisted man is going to run the building. if you can use that as a springboard he's facing immense challenges from sequestration to afghanistan to a nuclear iran but it's an opportunity for him to seize the moment. if he does, people will forget this pretty quickly i think. >> woodruff: what about the sour relations or whatever lingering effect there is from this loud vote of no confidence from repub

monday at the white house. he will also be honored at the pentagon on tuesday, after which he will come back here to minot, north dakota, and continue with his new job. meanwhile, the war in afghanistan continues. more than 60,000 american service members are right now in that country fighting that war. >>> i've come to gun country in one of the most popular stores in the state. i fired the most powerful we in america's arsenal and they're all legal. >> you're in america now and we have a special amendment right. this a is special edition. >> how has business been? >> right noi it's impossible to get guns and ammunition. >> this pattern has been seen all over america. why are people reacting by buying more guns and ammunition. >> i know my customers feel they will be banned. they need to get it now while they still can. >> what's the most popular? >> anything with over a ten round automatic. that's the rumor they will try to ban. >> do you think those are kind of things they should use in self-defense? >> for self-defense for your home or your property? >> home. >> for your home i

strategist robert zimmerman starting with the man who wants to be in charge at the pentagon. the showdown over chuck hagel's nomination, blocked by republicans until of presidents day break. very rare to filibuster a cabinet pick. i want to show you what john mccain said on fox. he said, there's a lot of ill will towards senator hagel because when he was a republican, he attacked president bush mercilessly and said he was the worst president since herbert hoover, said the surge was the worst blunder since the vietnam war. is this hagel fight about policy or is it about a political payback? >> this is all about politics. when you listen to that quote from john mccain and you watch the way he and his colleagues conducted himself, they look like an infomercial for anger management therapy. it was truly nothing more than a grudge match. we have almost 70,000 soldiers in combat in afghanistan representing us, fighting for our country and also protecting each other. we need to have a strong figure coordinating the pentagon. and the tactics that you see mccain and the republicans engagi

zimmerman starting with the man who wants to be in charge at the pentagon. the showdown over chuck hagel's nomination, blocked by republicans until of presidents day break. very rare to filibuster a cabinet pick. i want to show you what john mccain said on fox. he said, there's a lot of ill will towards senator hagel because when he was a republican, he attacked president bush mercilessly and said he was the worst president since herbert hoover, said the surge was the worst blunder since the vietnam war. which is nonsense. antihis own party, people don't forget that. is this hagel fight about policy or is it about a political payback? >> this is all about politics. when you listen to that quote from john mccain and you watch the way he and his colleagues conducted themselves, they look like an infomercial for anger management therapy. it was truly nothing more than a grudge match. we have almost 70,000 soldiers in combat in afghanistan representing us, fighting for our country and also protecting each other. we need to have a strong figure coordinating the pentagon. and the tactics

. the former nebraska senator and vietnam combat veteran was sworn in at the pentagon today. and a $46 billion mandatory budget cuts that are scheduled to take place friday. the vatican today the first pope to resign in 600 years. and 140 people in st. peter's square. pope benedict xvi will step down and 2:00 eastern time. candidate of new pope will be selected has not announced. the statue of liberty and ellis island have been closed since superstorm sandy in october. interior secretary can salazar says repair work is continuing at a historic site by the security screening process for visitors has to be resolved before reopening date can be set. we have to find other things to do with people visiting yes. melissa: those are the headlines, thank you. gas prices continue to rise but could that mean more than a drain on your wallet? my next guest says if they continue to climb they could take the market. [talking over each other] melissa: this was really interesting. you put together ten factors that contribute to a slide in stocks, one of them was gas prices. let's talk about that first

valentine's day. >> bret: this was supposed to be leon panetta's last day as the pentagon chief, but after a rocky confirmation hearing, senators' demands for other answers the replacement has been temporarily blocked. this is "special report." ♪ ♪ >> bret: good evening. i'm bret baier. bags are packed. ready to head out of town but leon panetta isn't riding nauf the sunset of california retirement yet. senate republicans are blocking a vote on panetta's embattled replacement over among other things questions about the libya terror attack last september. mike emanuel on what is holding up chuck hagel. >> they successfully delayed chuck hagel's controversial nomination as secretary of defense. late today, procedural vote failed after senator john mccain had made the case for waiting until after next week's recess. >> i think that is a sufficient period of time to get answers to outstanding questions and i think that senator hagel after that period of time deserves a cloture vote and a uvote on his. >> i have valued your thoughts and your contributions. i think most all of us in pu